Wide receiver Garry Coles scored the go-ahead touchdown in the opening minute of the fourth quarter. He caught a beautiful pass from quarterback Kevin Oberg and raced 52 yards down the sideline. Tyler Kurjiaka's extra-point kick made it 23-21 Militia.

"This team has so much heart," Coles said. "We're ready to fight to the very end. That's the best part about this team. No one gives up. Everyone fights their hardest to the last whistle."

On the first play of the Bearcats ensuing drive, Militia cornerback Dan Faison leaped to intercept a pass from Rich Snowden at the Militia 45-yard line. That set up the Militia's next scoring drive, which was capped by a seven-yard touchdown run by Lionel Assie to make it 30-21.

On their next drive, the Bearcats drove deep into Militia territory but had to settle for Andy Benicewicz's 44-yard field goal after a big sack by Militia linebacker Joe Burnett on third and goal from the 14.

The Bearcats got the ball back two more times after that, and both times the Militia defense held its ground. On fourth and five from the Bearcats' 49 with less than two minutes to go, Snowden was stopped short of the first down by Militia linebacker Desmond Miller and lineman Kashif Khan.

With 10.8 seconds remaining and the ball on the Bearcats' 26, Snowden dropped back to pass one last time and was drilled by Militia defensive end Chansler Davis for a game-ending sack -- a fitting exclamation point at the end of a memorable afternoon of football.

"The main thing is we stayed together as a unit," Militia coach Lonnie Young said. "Yeah, we faced some adversity, but all in all, as a team, we took their punches. This was a heavyweight fight. They're the two-time defending champs, and by no means were they going to lay down and just take it. They gave us some body blows, however, we came off the ropes, kept swinging and got a knockout blow at the end."

Early in the second half, the Bearcats had the lead and all the momentum. Akeem Wright's 55-yard touchdown scamper made it 21-16 Bearcats with 11:41 remaining in the third quarter.

On the Militia's next drive, Oberg was picked off by Sir Snowden near midfield. From there, the Bearcats embarked on a long drive deep into Militia territory and were poised to take a commanding lead.

The Bearcats were forced to attempt a field goal when their drive stalled at the six, and Benicewicz's 23-yard attempt was blocked by Raquim Taft and recovered by Faison on the Militia 23. That set up the scoring drive that gave the Militia the lead for good, which ended with Coles racing down the sideline for the touchdown. Two plays before that, however, Coles made a tremendous play to keep that drive alive. On third and 19 from the Militia 14, Oberg tucked the ball away and raced out of the pocket to his left. Coles' punishing block on a Bearcat defender allowed Oberg to turn upfield and pick up the first down.

The game was a back-and-forth affair from the outset. The Militia scored on their opening drive, with Spenser Cortese catching a three-yard touchdown pass from Oberg.

Wright, however, returned the ensuing kickoff 74 yards for a touchdown to give the Bearcats a 7-6 lead. Wright is a dangerous weapon and is a threat to score any time he touches the ball. Young, the longtime coach of the Danbury Trojans Pop Warner team, had seen Wright's explosiveness before.

"He's dynamic," Young said. "I remember him from Pop Warner. I coached against him. He played for the Bridgeport Raiders and he took off on us, the same thing. He stayed with it, and he's that same dynamic player."

With an 8-0 record that includes two wins over the second-place Bearcats, the Militia have clinched the NEFL Triple-A Southern Division regular-season title and, more importantly, home-field advantage to start the playoffs.

"It's a great win," Coles said. "We wanted to show the entire league that we can compete with everyone, and beating the Bearcats twice shows that we're here and we're ready to compete. Losing is not on our minds. We want the ring."

But before they start looking ahead to the playoffs, the Militia still have two more regular-season games to go, including Sunday's home game against the Connecticut Ravens at 1:30 p.m. at Immaculate.

"We still have to stay focussed," Young said. "We still have to close out the regular season. Anything can happen, and we're not trying to have any missteps."